<p>We might be giving our son my Toyota Camry hybrid and then I’d need a new car. I want great gas mileage, reliability and really comfortable seats, especially for the driver (me). I also want some kind of parking assistance, like it will beep if I’m about to hit something. Any suggestions appreciated.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at hybrids lately. A lot comes down to personal preference. The Toyota Prius and Honda insight get great mileage and aren’t expensive, but I don’t like their styling. It seems theyre trying too hard to “look green” and make a statement. I want a fuel efficient car, not a political statement. So I am leaning toward the Honda Civic hybrid. 44 mpg, $23,000, and it looks like a sensible car.</p>
<p>But… and there’s always a but with me and cars… the technology is evolving very quickly and next year’s choices will always be better, and I would like a “plug in hybrid” but for now the only real choice is the Prius plug in and, well, that looks like a Prius. In 2013 honda’s coming out with an Accord plug in hybrid, so I might wait for that.</p>
<p>My H has a Prius and likes it (not a plug-in) but I want to look around a little. I will look at the Insight.</p>
<p>When you’re at the Honda dealer, compare the Insight and the Civic hybrid. Aside from the different styling (the Insight is more Prius like) there are other differences too. The Insight is a hatchback, Civic has a trunk; and the Civic’s hybrid technology is more advanced. Expect a technological update to the Insight soon.</p>
<p>It gets so confusing.</p>
<p>Well, if we give my car to our son, it will be at the end of this week, so I have to think fast.</p>
<p>Getting newly “tweaked” cars can lead to some bugs & headaches, from one of the two experiences buying new cars. Our S rented several cars with his Hertz gold points to decide what car he wanted to buy. It turned out to be a good thing because he could drive them & see how they handled as well as sightlines. That was one reason he didn’t like the Honda “FIT.” Because he rents cars a lot for work, he had a lot of points & was able to get these trial rents at no charge! He ended up inheriting a car (literally), just as he was all set to buy a new one. He was all set to buy a Mazda 6 brand new, which was going to be cheaper than a used one. His cousin loves her gently used one that was purchased from Hertz.</p>
<p>Take the amount of money you will pay as a premium for a hybrid and figure out how long it will take for you to get paid back. 52 mpg on a hybrid vs 40 on several conventional cars takes a very long time to payback a $5,000+ premium.</p>
<p>The Ford Focus and upcoming Ford C-Max have optional self-parking capability. However, you likely have to buy the fully loaded up versions of the cars to get that option.</p>
<p>[2012</a> Ford Focus | View Focus Features | Ford.com](<a href=“http://www.ford.com/cars/focus/features/#page=Feature15]2012”>http://www.ford.com/cars/focus/features/#page=Feature15)</p>
<p>Among hybrid systems, the Honda design is generally considered inferior (in terms of fuel economy gains – note that the Toyota Prius is both bigger and more fuel efficient than the Honda Civic hybrid) to that of other companies.</p>
<p>Seat comfort is a personal preference thing to a large extent. Also, short trip versus long trip seat comfort may be different.</p>
<p>we were told by a salesman not to go with the parking assistance when we were recently car shopping. Instead we got a car with a backup camera and backup sensors, which make parallel parking much easier because you can see how far you are from everything behind you.</p>
<p>Why would a salesman talk you out of an expensive feature? (unless of course the cars he sells don’t have that particular feature, or he has none on the lot and cant get one easily).</p>
<p>jym–I’m betting that the beeping kind of parking assist I mentioned is cheaper than the backup cameras and sensors. My H likes those on his Prius, but all I want is a beep before I hit something/someone.</p>
<p>Iron Maiden–good point about cost, but I’m thinking more about using less fossil fuels. Considering the amount I drive (not much) maybe it doesn’t matter greatly, but I’d like to cut down on the carbon footprint where I can. I’m not exactly perfect in other ways.</p>
<p>For those who drive very little, choosing a car that consumes less fuel has less impact on both your money and carbon footprint. Driving very little in the first place likely has a bigger impact (and if your trips are short, walking or bicycling instead can save even more money and carbon footprint).</p>
<p>If you just want a backup camera, there are low cost aftermarket backup cameras available.</p>
<p>Whats your budget, bethie? Sedan or hatchback? New or gently used?</p>
<p>My daughter is trying to talk me into a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Any reason why you don’t want another one?</p>
<p>I have the backup camera, the beeping, AND the self-park options on my Ford Escape. I have always been quite good at parallel parking, and I thought I wouldn’t use the self-park option much. I <em>love</em> it. For one thing, it amuses me every time I use it. It’s like having a ghost park the car, only it does a better job than I ever did. I also find the backup camera very useful.</p>
<p>The salesman told us he it’s not a fail-safe for knowing how to parallel park and there are court cases where it failed and the driver is suing the auto company for it. We really needed it for our beach house, where there’s parallel parking on both side of the street, and I’m not sure it works for a left-side space.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for cars like a Prius, the batteries cost in the neighborhood of $3500 to replace. I did see that Hyundai has a lifetime warranty on their Hybrid batteries now so that might be an option.</p>
<p>For the best combination of gas mileage and emissions check out: </p>
<p>[Green</a> Vehicle Guide | US EPA](<a href=“http://ofmpub.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Index.do]Green”>http://ofmpub.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Index.do)</p>
<p>It looks like you already own two of the top ranked vehicles in this category. I’d also check out Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata. A friend had the Civic hybrid (also well rated for mileage and emissions) but traded it in - she didn’t like the comfort or handling.</p>
<p>FlyMeToTheMoon–No, I like the Camry. My husband gets a new leased car every 3 years through his work, so he drove it for 3 years and decided to buy it for me. I’ve liked it and it has been reliable. It doesn’t have any kind of backup assistance and I’m not sure if I could find a car with seats that feel more comfortable to me. I find sitting anywhere less comfortable these days, so maybe I wouldn’t find any car seats to be comfortable.</p>